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Patgnted May 30, I899.

0. CUL LISDN. AUTOMATIC FENDER.

(Application filed Mar. 11,, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model) TH: norms PETERS '20., Puoruumcu WASHINGTON u. c.

Patented May 30, I899.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

-OBEDIAH CULLISON, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 625,834, dated May 30, 1899.

Application filed March 11 1899.

T ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OBEDIAH CULLISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county 'of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Oar-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention consists in improvements in car-fenders, and has particularly for its object to improve automatic fenders of the type shown in my Patent No. 536,853, dated April 2, 1895, though it should be understood that my invention is not limited in its useful applications to fenders of that type and that one or another or all of the features of such invention are applicable to car-fenders of many different kinds, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings I have represented the most approved embodiment of my invention as applied to a flat or platform car, having chosen a car of that kind for the sake of simplicity in illustration.

In such drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of one end of a car with my improvements applied thereto, the fender being shown in its normal or retracted position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one side of the fender devices, the parts being in the position indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side View of the tender, the parts being represented in their forward or projected positions. Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation, parts being broken away, of one of the sliding bars of the fender, its support, and the means for holding it in its rearward or re- Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 5 and drawn to the same scale. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the means whereby the fender may be automatically retracted. Fig. 7 is a top plan view illustrating the means for supporting the netting of the fender in front of the car-platform. Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of such means, the netting being removed. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of part of oneof the side pieces of the fender proper and the triparm carried thereby. Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged sectional views taken on the lines 10 10 and 11 11, respectively, of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A represents the body or platform of the car, beween which and the truck-frames E are arranged the springs F, the car-body being thus yieldingly supported.

13 B are the wheels, D the axles on which Serial No. 708,693. (No model.)

the wheels are mounted, and Gan electric motor mounted on one of the axles. The car is provided at either end with a platform 11 and a dashboard C. The parts thus far referred to may be of any usual or preferred construction.

Where the car-bod y is mounted on springs, as represented in the drawings, there is often considerable oscillation thereof when in motion, especially when heavily loaded and running rapidly over a track which is not well laid and smooth, and for this and other reasons it is best that the car-fender should not be mounted upon or supported from the carbody. I have therefore invented a novel means for supporting the fender from the cartruck E.

e e'are forwardly-extending arms or bars of the truck-framework, to which are secured the brackets 10. These brackets preferably depend from the arms eand are of such length as to afford a suitably rigid support for the fender-supporting bars 11. As will be understood, there is one of these brackets and one bar 11 on each side of the car, and when the car is provided with a fender at each end these, as well as the parts of the fender proper, are duplicated at each end of the car. The bars 11 are preferably of channel form, the channels therein openinginward and constituting ways in which are mounted the sliding bars 2 2, which carry the fender proper. The sliding bars are connected ator near their front ends by a cross or tie rod. 12 and near their rear ends by a tie-rod 13, this .arrangement' making a rigid sliding frame, which is adapted to travel back and forth. in the channels or ways of the supporting-bars 11. The vertically arranged webs of the channel-bars 11 are slotted throughout a portion of their length, as indicated at16, and the projecting ends of the rear tie-rod 13 extend through these slots and travel therein as the sliding bars2 2 move forward and back. The ends of the slots 16 constitute stops to limit the extent of movement of the sliding bars and fender, and I prefer to arrange a spring bufferor cushion 17 at the forward ends of these slots to take up the force of the shock incident to the automatic forward movement of the fender.

14 represents a tie bar or rod extending between the bars 11 at their forward ends.

In my aforesaid patent I disclosed and claimed a construction in which there were combined the following elements: the sliding bars, a fender pivotally supported thereon, means for moving forward the said bars and fender, catches for holding them back, and a trip arm or arms controlled by the fender for disengaging the said catches, and these elements are retained in substantially the same operative relations to one another in my present improved form of automatic fender, though in details of form, construction, and arrangement they have been changed and improved.

5 5 represent the side bars or frame-pieces of the fender proper. They are pivoted at 23 to the forward endsof the sliding bars 2, and between them is supported the netting 7, which extends from the roller 6 or other form of buffer at the forward end of the fender backward to about the line of the pivots 23, whence it extends upward and is connected with the platform H in front of the dashboard in a manner to be presently described.

15 15 are the springs which operate to carry forward the fenderint-o the position indicated in Fig. 2, when they are free to operate. As shown, they are heavy coiled springs connected at their upperends to the body of the car below the platform H and at their lower ends connected to the rear tie-bar 13 of the sliding bars 2. are held retracted, with the springs 15 under tension, by the spring-catches 18, mounted upon the supporting-bars 11 and adapted to engage with the lugs or projections 19 on the bars 2.

180 indicates an adj Listing-screw bearing against the catch18 or the spring thereof and arranged to regulate the engagement of the catch with the lug or projection 19, and hence the nicety of operation of the trip mechanism.

In order to automatically disengage the catches 18 and allow the fender to be shot forward under the force of the springs 15, 1 provide trip-arms 24, which are operated by the fender whenever it comes iiito contact with an obstruction and serve to disengage the catches from the lugs 19. The preferred construction of these trip-arms is that shown in the drawings, where they are represented as being in one piece with the side bars 5 of the fender and extending rearward beyond the pivots 23. The rear end of each trip-arm is beveled, as represented at 2a, and this part of the arm lies directly under and in engagement with the spring-catch 18 when the fender is retracted, as represented in Fig. 1.

The force of the springs which control the catches 18 is sufficient to rock the fender upon its pivots slightly as the beveled ends of the arms 24 slide under the catches toward the ends of the rearward movements of the fen- .der and the bars 2, this resulting in slightly The fender and sliding-bars tion while it is held in'its retracted position i the fender will be so moved on its pivots as to trip the catches 18 and allow the springs to project forward the fender, the forward edge of the fender during such movement traveling close to the track.

The extent to which the fender may vibrate upon its pivots should be quite limited, and to control such movements I prefer to employ the following instrumentalities: 25 is a substantially horizontal flange extending outward from. the bar 5 of the fender below the pivot 23. This flange is such distance below the pivot as to have its upper edge engage with the lower edge of the sliding bar 2, and it is of such length as to have a portion of its bearing-face that engages with the sliding bar in advance of the pivot 23 and another portion of its bearing-face in rearof the pivot. These two bearing-faces are arranged at a slight angle to each other, as represented clearly in Figs. 4c and 9, the face 26, which is in front of the pivot, being in engagement with the under side of the bar 2 when the fender is in its normal retracted position, Figs. 1 and 4E, and held with its front portion slightly elevated and tending to prevent vibration of the fender and a consequent tripping or disengagement of the catches 18. The bearing-face 27, which is in rear of the pivot 23, engages with the lower face of the sliding bar 2 whenever the trip-arm 24E has moved forward and out of engagement with the catch 18, Fig. 3, and such bearing-face is so disposed as to hold the forward end of the fender at the proper height relative to the track, the proper position of the forward edge of the fender while it is being projected forward and when in its extreme forward position being very close to but not in engagement with the track.

29 indicates an adjusting-screw extending through that portion of the flange 25 which constitutes the bearing-face 26 and adapted to be adjusted so that its end-will engage with the under edge or face of the bar 2. It will be seen that by means of this screw the position which the fender occupies relative to the track; when retracted may be regulated,

and consequently the force with which the catch 18 and the arm 24 en gage may be varied.

30 30 indicate antifriction-rollers carried by the supporting channel-bars 11 and against which the sliding bars 2 bear. They operate to securely confine the sliding bars within the channels of the supporting-bars and allow them to move without undue friction.

It will he observed that the sliding bars 2 and the side bars 5 of the fender are arranged nearly in the same horizontal plane, so that the supporting-bars, the sliding bars, and the fender proper are practically all the same distance above the track. This is an advantage of construction, adding to the ease and certainty of the operation of the device and to its neat appearance when upon a car.

It is desirable that the fender should be unpinions mounted upon a shaft adapted to be turned by a crank or other manually-operated mechanism in order to retract the fender and bring it into engagement with the springcatches. Such an arrangement for retracting the fender was slow and tedious in its operation and necessitated the stoppage of the car whenever the fender was to be retracted and set in its normal position. I have invented a means whereby the fender may be automatically retracted and set without necessitating the stoppage of the car.

34 34 are flexible connecting devices, such as steel-wire rope or chain, connected with the sliding bars 2 at their forward ends and extending thence past suitable gniding-pulleys to a spool or drum 36, which is mounted loosely upon one of the car-axles D. I prefer that the two flexible connections 34 should unite, as at 35, so that but a single rope or.

chain need be connected with and wound upon the spool 36. The spool or drum 36 is provided with one member 37 of a frictionclutch device, the other member 38 being connected with the axle D by a spline, upon which it may move toward and from the loose member 37.

39 indicates a shifting lever for the clutch member 38, such lever being connected through intermediate operating mechanism 39 with an operating-lever 40, arranged above the platform [I in convenient position to be operated by the motorman.

Should the fender be tripped and projected while the car is in motion, as by striking a stone or running into a snowbank, it may be immediately retracted and brought to normal position without stopping the car or even lessening its speed by simply throwing into engagement the clutch members 37 and 38 until the .rope or chain 35 has been sufficiently wound upon the spool 36 to draw back the fender and bring the springcatches 18 and lugs 19 into engagement. It will be understood that, if found desirable, any suitable form of throw-01f device may be employed to disengage the clutch members when the fender is fully retracted; but such device I do not consider it necessary to illustrate.

As hereinbefore stated, the netting 7 of the fender extends between the side bars 5 backward about to the pivots 23 and is thence carried upward to the front of the platform I-I. Instead of connecting the netting directly to thefront edge of such platform I support it upon a yielding spring arrangement, which, together with the netting,constitutes a springbuffer in front of the platform and the carbumper and other rigid parts of thecar.

extending the netting 7 upward in front of the springs 13 and the spring 41 and its Vertical arms and thence rearward over the top of the same to the platform, where it is secured,I provide an exceedingly flexible support for the upper part of the fender, which support is so arranged as to render it practically impossible for the platform or other rigid part of the car to strike a person who may fall upon or be caught by the fender.

In double-truck cars, where the body is usually very long and the trucks relatively short,

there is frequently more oscillation on the part of the trucks than there is in the body, and in such event it would be desirable to support thesuspending-bracket 10 from the carbody rather than from the truck-frame, as.

the body would form the more steadily-moving carrier therefor.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a car, of the channel-bars, 11, carried thereby, and having their vertical webs slotted in a longitudinal direction, sliding bars, 2, mounted in the channels of the bars 11, a tie-rod between the rear ends of the sliding bars extending through the slots in the supporting-bars, a fender carried by .the sliding bars, and means for moving the sliding bars and the fender, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a car-truck provided with forward-extendin g arms, 6, brackets, 10, supported by said arms, channel-bars, 11, mounted in the said brackets, the sliding bars, 2, mounted in the channels of the said bars 11, a fender carried at the forward ends of the bars 2, and means for moving the fender and the sliding bars,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a car, of supporting -bars carried thereby, the sliding bars mounted in ways in the said supporting-bars, the fender, pivotally connected with the sliding bars at their forward ends, the fender being formed with the side frame-pieces, 5, arranged in approximately the horizontal plane of the sliding bars, the catches for holding the fender and sliding bars in a retracted position, the means for projecting them forward, and trip-arms operated by the fenderfor releasing the catches when the fender meets with an obstruction, substantially as set forth- 4. In an automatic car-fender, the combination of the sliding bars,2, the springs adapted to move the bars forward, catches for holding the bars retracted, the fender pivotally connected with the forward ends of the sliding bars, and having the side pieces 5, which,

when the fender is in normal position, are approximately in the horizontal plane of the sliding bars, and the trip-arms, 24, consisting of extensions of the arms 5 beyond their pivotal connections with the sliding bars, lying close to the sides thereof, and adapted to engage with the catches when the sliding bars and fender are retracted, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a car, of sliding bars, a fender supported thereby, means for projecting the fender, spring-catches for hold ing the fender and sliding bars in a retracted position, trip-arms operated by the fender when it meets an obstruction for releasing the spring-catches, and adjusting means for the catches, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, in an automatic fender, of the sliding bars, the fender pivotally connected with said bars, means for projecting the fender and bars, catches for holding them in retracted position, the trip-arms for the catches, and the bearings, 26 and 27, for limiting the extent of movement of the fender on its pivots in each direction, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In an automatic fender, the combination of the sliding bars, a fender pivoted thereto, the catches which hold the bars and fender in retracted position, the trip-arms which engage with said catches when the bars and fender are retracted, and means for regulating the engagement of the said arms and catches, substantially as set forth.

8. In an'automatic fender, the combination of the sliding bars 2, springs for moving them forward, catches for holding them retracted, a fender proper pivotally supported by the sliding bars, having the side pieces 5, the said pieces "being continued in rear of the pivots uniting them with the sliding bars, and constituting trip-arms 24, and being provided, adjacent to the pivots, With the flanges having the bearing-faces 26 and 27, and the adjustable bearing-screws, 29, mounted in the said flanges and adapted to engage with the sliding bars, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of a fender proper, means connected therewith arranged to antomatically project the fender forward, means for holding it in a retracted position, and means independent of the said automatic projecting means for drawing back or retracting the fender, arranged to be connected with the wheel-axle at the will of the motorman, such means being normally disconnected from the axle, whereby the fender may be retracted by the forward movement of the car, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination of a car-fender, means projecting and holding means and trip being independent, in their operations, of the running-gear of the car, gearing connected with the car-axle and with the fender for retracting'the fender by the forward movement of the car, a clutch device under the control of the motorman for bringing such gearing into operation, the parts being combined substantially as set forth whereby the fender may be both projected and Withdrawn without interfering with the movements of the car.

12. The combination of the sliding bars, 2,

the fender carried thereby, means for projecting the fender and the bars, means for holding them in a retracted position, atrip device for releasing the fender so it may be projected, a clutch connected with the axle, flexible connections, 34, between the loose member of the clutch and the bars, 2, and means under the control of the motorman for operating the clutch, substantially as set forth.

13. In a car-fender, the combination of a bow-shaped spring, 41, connected near its middle portion to the car-platform, a crossspring between the ends of said spring, and netting supported over the said spring, substantially as set forth.

14. In a car-fender, the combination of a bow-shaped spring, 41, connected at its central portion to the front edge of the car-platform, the said spring being provided with vertically-disposed arms, 42, at its ends, a plurality of coiled springs, 43, extending between these arms, and the netting extending in front of the spring 43 and over the spring 41, substantially as set forth.

15. In a car-fender, the combination of sliding bars, catches, 18, for holding the bars in retracted positions, a fender carried by the sliding bars, flexible connections, 31, connected with the catches, means adapted to be operated by the motorman for operating the said flexible connections to release the sliding bars from the catches, and means for tripping the catches automatically, substantially as set forth.

OBEDIAH OULLISON.

Witnesses:

AUGUSTUS LoUcKs, ROBERT J. LEWIS. 

